Nathan and Rahne: Venison
Nov. 6th, 2004 02:57 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsSet early Saturday morning. Rahne finally gets her deer, and as promised, Nathan helps with it.
The weeks she'd spent observing the deer without chasing them had definitely paid off. Rahne slipped out into the woods late very early on Saturday morning, before dawn, and sniffed curiously at the lingering signs of Kyle and Anika, smelled a rabbit trail with only minor regret, and turned her attention to larger prey.
The deer that frequented Xavier's land were stupid. Or desperate, perhaps, but for all they might be overpopulated, they still appeared to have found enough to eat so far. At any rate, they didn't seem so alert and wary as those her -- Hrimhari's pack had hunted. Rahne slunk quietly among the trees, using all the pack had taught her, and found a fresh trail and soon the deer it belonged to, a youngish buck, at a favorite browsing spot.
Not too big, she decided. Not small enough to be silly, but not so big she couldn't bring it down on her own. She'd had a good kick from a big one once, and really, that had been quite enough. This one hadn't had his antlers come in properly this year, either, and that was all to the good.
The pack might have run a weakened deer into the ground. This one barely had time to run; engaged in its own dinner, it failed to notice Rahne's approach from downwind until she leaped. It turned, and her teeth tore its throat but didn't sink as deep as she'd have liked; she landed hard on all four feet and threw herself out of the way as the panicked deer half stumbled and got up to run. Keeping her snarl silent, Rahne gave chase, racing with the breeze ruffling her fur and the scent of fresh blood in her nose.
....This was fun.
There ought to be a pack with her, other furry shadows trailing the pounding of the deer's hooves, but this was fun.
She did want it killed quickly and without much mess or suffering, though, so she turned on the speed and managed, laboring, to draw up alongside her prey from a distance and angle across, surprising it from the side.
Her leap this time was to catch the nose, sinking her teeth in and dragging down. This was going to be a challenge; the pack could have gone to disembowel it, if it seemed best, but she wanted this a little neater.
Her weight pulled the deer to his knees, snorting and choking and trying to rise or kick out at her.
Swiftly, she twisted away, then let go the nose and lunged for the throat again. This time, she tore the jugular and held the windpipe until the struggling stopped.
Her mouth was watering. No... this was too much for one, there was no pack, and it would be better to get Nathan to help her prepare it all cleanly, no matter what her habit or how good it would be warm. She stood over her kill for a moment, trying to decide the best way to drag it, and then shook herself all over. There weren't too many things in the wood that would come up right away to a carcass that smelled of wolf and human girl, and she could get back quickly. Nathan could carry it easily, and probably wouldn't mind -- though it might be a little earlier than she'd planned to wake him. She'd left herself time in case it wasn't so quick.
#Nathan?# she tried thinking. No answer. Asleep, or perhaps she didn't project properly as a wolf; she didn't know. Nonetheless, she stood only a little longer and then set off toward the mansion at a fast lope.
---
"That," Nathan said, setting the tools he'd put together for this purpose down on the ground beside the carcass, "is a respectable-sized deer." He straightened, giving her an assessing look. "You're all right?"
Rahne had rather thought it would be a waste of time to shift back to full human, shower, and dress before getting back to her deer, so she had led Nathan out as a wolf. Now she shifted to a transitional form and grinned at him. "Aye, managed to keep out of the way all right, for this time. I'm looking forward to breakfast, though."
Nathan spread the tarp, then set up the rope and pulley, tugging until the carcass was properly suspended off the ground. "Well, we'll see what we can do about that," he said, bending down to choose a knife. He glanced up at the sky. Still well shy of dawn.
Rahne managed to look sheepish in spite of being both bouncier than she'd felt in days and about half wolf at the moment. "I'm sorry about the time. I was expecting to take longer."
"Never complain about efficiency, kiddo. I'm glad it went so well." He examined the carcass in the dimness for a moment. "I think this bled pretty well, but let's make sure, shall we?"
"Aye. I choked it, partly, so...."
It had been a while since he'd done this. But it was an old skill, one practiced enough that it had come to be second nature. He thrust the knife into the carcass, tugging it downwards. "Was it like you expected it to be?"
Rahne watched him carefully; she'd probably want to do this herself at some point, and while she'd taken someone else's knife to some leftovers in Asgard, that was about the extent of it. "Mostly. I'd been watching long enough not to have much trouble finding one, and the chasing was...." She half-shut her eyes. "Nice. Though 'twas strange not having anyone else along, and hearing the hooves."
Nathan paused for a moment, then removed the musk glands before he turned his attention to eviscerating the carcass. Rahne might not mind the gamey taste, but she wasn't going to eat this whole thing, after all. "Can I take a guess that you might have your eye on the liver for breakfast?" he asked once the viscera was out.
"How'd ye ken? -- I suppose I was looking." Or possibly thinking very loudly. Granted she'd had beef for dinner last night, but even the short chase had definitely given her an appetite.
"Well, heart or liver... I figured it was a fair guess. You can have both if you like," he said, setting the two organs aside carefully before he turned his attention back to the carcass. .
"All of both would be a bit much unless I meant to stay a wolf for a few days. -- Are they what the bags are for?" They looked the right size. At his nod, she picked up one of the other knives and carefully cut off what seemed like a reasonable amount, then bagged the rest, trying to touch the parts she was saving as little as possible. That much wasn't too different from cutting up raw meat in the kitchen.
Then she shifted fully to wolf form and dug into a little over a pound of liver, waving her tail happily.
Nathan grinned at her for a moment, then focused on finishing the butchering job. Cain had cleared out a cooler for this very purpose, and from the looks of it the carcass would fit just fine. He fussed a bit over the carcass, to give Rahne time to finish her breakfast, and then started to pack up the tools. Not really looking forward to the cleanup, he thought with a faint smile.
"All right," he said briskly to the wolf gnawing on the last of the list. "I'm going to shamelessly take advantage of the fact that I'm telekinetic here. You okay with that?" Rahne wagged her tail and he chuckled. "Didn't think you'd object," he said and unfastened the rope and pulley, floating the carcass along behind him.
Rahne trotted after him, feeling pleasantly full and decidedly pleased with herself. She shifted back to a transitional form before long and came up alongside. "Thank ye very much for this. If there's a good time and I get another one later, would ye much mind letting me try the dressing, but still watching to help out if I doona get it right?"
"Sure," Nathan said easily. "I've got a couple of websites I can point you at. Diagrams and all to take you step-by-step through it... you can review them before the next time."
"Oh, that's good. I will." Then, not having seen him the previous day except to ask if he was up for an early-morning deer, she added, "Ye seem like the break yesterday maybe did ye good. Or else yui're very much a morning person."
"Or maybe I just like spending time with you," he said with a chuckle, smiling down at her. "Maybe it just cheers me up, as usual."
Rahne went happily warm all over at that and smiled back. "I -- that -- well, I'm glad then." A bit more softly, "I ken it canna have been an easy week. I wouldna have been surprised if ye'd rather have slept in, but I was glad ye didna mind this."
She really didn't know the half of it, Nathan reflected a bit bleakly, but he kept smiling. "One of the great virtues of Saturday mornings," he pointed out. "I can go right back to bed and have a nap as soon as we get your kill stowed away to age and the equipment cleaned. Oh, and I probably should shower, too." He chuckled.
Rahne picked up the change in scent and warmth and winced inwardly. There hadn't been any need to say that; Nathan knew perfectly well what kind of week he'd had and evidently hadn't needed the reminder. "I'll do the washing up," she said. "That much I'd better be able to handle myself. And ye can go on and get yuirself cleaned up and that nap, then."
"You know," Nathan said with another, warmer chuckle, "I don't think I'll actually fight with you over who gets to clean up the tools. I think I can manage to restrain myself." He smiled down at Rahne again as they approached the mansion, reflecting that as bonding experiences went... well, this was an odd one. Successful, but odd.
The weeks she'd spent observing the deer without chasing them had definitely paid off. Rahne slipped out into the woods late very early on Saturday morning, before dawn, and sniffed curiously at the lingering signs of Kyle and Anika, smelled a rabbit trail with only minor regret, and turned her attention to larger prey.
The deer that frequented Xavier's land were stupid. Or desperate, perhaps, but for all they might be overpopulated, they still appeared to have found enough to eat so far. At any rate, they didn't seem so alert and wary as those her -- Hrimhari's pack had hunted. Rahne slunk quietly among the trees, using all the pack had taught her, and found a fresh trail and soon the deer it belonged to, a youngish buck, at a favorite browsing spot.
Not too big, she decided. Not small enough to be silly, but not so big she couldn't bring it down on her own. She'd had a good kick from a big one once, and really, that had been quite enough. This one hadn't had his antlers come in properly this year, either, and that was all to the good.
The pack might have run a weakened deer into the ground. This one barely had time to run; engaged in its own dinner, it failed to notice Rahne's approach from downwind until she leaped. It turned, and her teeth tore its throat but didn't sink as deep as she'd have liked; she landed hard on all four feet and threw herself out of the way as the panicked deer half stumbled and got up to run. Keeping her snarl silent, Rahne gave chase, racing with the breeze ruffling her fur and the scent of fresh blood in her nose.
....This was fun.
There ought to be a pack with her, other furry shadows trailing the pounding of the deer's hooves, but this was fun.
She did want it killed quickly and without much mess or suffering, though, so she turned on the speed and managed, laboring, to draw up alongside her prey from a distance and angle across, surprising it from the side.
Her leap this time was to catch the nose, sinking her teeth in and dragging down. This was going to be a challenge; the pack could have gone to disembowel it, if it seemed best, but she wanted this a little neater.
Her weight pulled the deer to his knees, snorting and choking and trying to rise or kick out at her.
Swiftly, she twisted away, then let go the nose and lunged for the throat again. This time, she tore the jugular and held the windpipe until the struggling stopped.
Her mouth was watering. No... this was too much for one, there was no pack, and it would be better to get Nathan to help her prepare it all cleanly, no matter what her habit or how good it would be warm. She stood over her kill for a moment, trying to decide the best way to drag it, and then shook herself all over. There weren't too many things in the wood that would come up right away to a carcass that smelled of wolf and human girl, and she could get back quickly. Nathan could carry it easily, and probably wouldn't mind -- though it might be a little earlier than she'd planned to wake him. She'd left herself time in case it wasn't so quick.
#Nathan?# she tried thinking. No answer. Asleep, or perhaps she didn't project properly as a wolf; she didn't know. Nonetheless, she stood only a little longer and then set off toward the mansion at a fast lope.
---
"That," Nathan said, setting the tools he'd put together for this purpose down on the ground beside the carcass, "is a respectable-sized deer." He straightened, giving her an assessing look. "You're all right?"
Rahne had rather thought it would be a waste of time to shift back to full human, shower, and dress before getting back to her deer, so she had led Nathan out as a wolf. Now she shifted to a transitional form and grinned at him. "Aye, managed to keep out of the way all right, for this time. I'm looking forward to breakfast, though."
Nathan spread the tarp, then set up the rope and pulley, tugging until the carcass was properly suspended off the ground. "Well, we'll see what we can do about that," he said, bending down to choose a knife. He glanced up at the sky. Still well shy of dawn.
Rahne managed to look sheepish in spite of being both bouncier than she'd felt in days and about half wolf at the moment. "I'm sorry about the time. I was expecting to take longer."
"Never complain about efficiency, kiddo. I'm glad it went so well." He examined the carcass in the dimness for a moment. "I think this bled pretty well, but let's make sure, shall we?"
"Aye. I choked it, partly, so...."
It had been a while since he'd done this. But it was an old skill, one practiced enough that it had come to be second nature. He thrust the knife into the carcass, tugging it downwards. "Was it like you expected it to be?"
Rahne watched him carefully; she'd probably want to do this herself at some point, and while she'd taken someone else's knife to some leftovers in Asgard, that was about the extent of it. "Mostly. I'd been watching long enough not to have much trouble finding one, and the chasing was...." She half-shut her eyes. "Nice. Though 'twas strange not having anyone else along, and hearing the hooves."
Nathan paused for a moment, then removed the musk glands before he turned his attention to eviscerating the carcass. Rahne might not mind the gamey taste, but she wasn't going to eat this whole thing, after all. "Can I take a guess that you might have your eye on the liver for breakfast?" he asked once the viscera was out.
"How'd ye ken? -- I suppose I was looking." Or possibly thinking very loudly. Granted she'd had beef for dinner last night, but even the short chase had definitely given her an appetite.
"Well, heart or liver... I figured it was a fair guess. You can have both if you like," he said, setting the two organs aside carefully before he turned his attention back to the carcass. .
"All of both would be a bit much unless I meant to stay a wolf for a few days. -- Are they what the bags are for?" They looked the right size. At his nod, she picked up one of the other knives and carefully cut off what seemed like a reasonable amount, then bagged the rest, trying to touch the parts she was saving as little as possible. That much wasn't too different from cutting up raw meat in the kitchen.
Then she shifted fully to wolf form and dug into a little over a pound of liver, waving her tail happily.
Nathan grinned at her for a moment, then focused on finishing the butchering job. Cain had cleared out a cooler for this very purpose, and from the looks of it the carcass would fit just fine. He fussed a bit over the carcass, to give Rahne time to finish her breakfast, and then started to pack up the tools. Not really looking forward to the cleanup, he thought with a faint smile.
"All right," he said briskly to the wolf gnawing on the last of the list. "I'm going to shamelessly take advantage of the fact that I'm telekinetic here. You okay with that?" Rahne wagged her tail and he chuckled. "Didn't think you'd object," he said and unfastened the rope and pulley, floating the carcass along behind him.
Rahne trotted after him, feeling pleasantly full and decidedly pleased with herself. She shifted back to a transitional form before long and came up alongside. "Thank ye very much for this. If there's a good time and I get another one later, would ye much mind letting me try the dressing, but still watching to help out if I doona get it right?"
"Sure," Nathan said easily. "I've got a couple of websites I can point you at. Diagrams and all to take you step-by-step through it... you can review them before the next time."
"Oh, that's good. I will." Then, not having seen him the previous day except to ask if he was up for an early-morning deer, she added, "Ye seem like the break yesterday maybe did ye good. Or else yui're very much a morning person."
"Or maybe I just like spending time with you," he said with a chuckle, smiling down at her. "Maybe it just cheers me up, as usual."
Rahne went happily warm all over at that and smiled back. "I -- that -- well, I'm glad then." A bit more softly, "I ken it canna have been an easy week. I wouldna have been surprised if ye'd rather have slept in, but I was glad ye didna mind this."
She really didn't know the half of it, Nathan reflected a bit bleakly, but he kept smiling. "One of the great virtues of Saturday mornings," he pointed out. "I can go right back to bed and have a nap as soon as we get your kill stowed away to age and the equipment cleaned. Oh, and I probably should shower, too." He chuckled.
Rahne picked up the change in scent and warmth and winced inwardly. There hadn't been any need to say that; Nathan knew perfectly well what kind of week he'd had and evidently hadn't needed the reminder. "I'll do the washing up," she said. "That much I'd better be able to handle myself. And ye can go on and get yuirself cleaned up and that nap, then."
"You know," Nathan said with another, warmer chuckle, "I don't think I'll actually fight with you over who gets to clean up the tools. I think I can manage to restrain myself." He smiled down at Rahne again as they approached the mansion, reflecting that as bonding experiences went... well, this was an odd one. Successful, but odd.
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Date: 2004-11-06 12:53 am (UTC)(Love the log. Love love love. <33333333333 even)
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Date: 2004-11-06 08:43 am (UTC)And, yes, agreed, great log.